


The Merman Prince's savior

by karovie



Series: His Royal Manservant [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Blood, Hurt Merlin, Merpeople, Sea monster, but not the knights of the round table!, canon era AU, evil knights, merfolk, merman, merman lancelot, merman merlin, other knights - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-03-31 05:04:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3965434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karovie/pseuds/karovie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(please read The Beginning first) Merlin had finally let his guard down after two years of worrying about having been seen while saving the human. It results in disaster when he's called out to a rescue mission. Too late, he realizes his father's knights had planned for his demise on this mission and ends up trapped and gravely injured. The merman in need was not a part of the plan, however, and after playing dead to escape the wrath of the knights, he makes it his mission to help the Prince.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has now been betaed!
> 
> please please leave comments! those are like water for me! all kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!  
> I hope you enjoy :)

It had been more than two years since Prince Arthur Pendragon was saved from near drowning by a mysterious boy. He didn’t remember much of it. It had all been fuzzy at best, and after two years, what little he remembered was almost completely gone. The only thing he had left as a way to identify his saviour, was the little blue shell he had worn around his neck ever since. His hope of finding this boy was getting weaker by the day. Two years was a long time, after all.

There had been those who tried to pose as his saviour in the hopes of being rewarded, but Arthur had seen through their tricks long ago. The simple question of “What did you give me before you left?” broke even the best actors. No one except for Gaius knew that the blue shell around his neck was the correct answer, and even then it would technically be wrong, since Arthur had torn it from the boy’s hand. That was a secret he kept to himself.

When Gaius suddenly took on a boy that was supposedly his nephew as an apprentice, Arthur could have sworn he’d seen him before.

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**~~~~oOMERLINOo~~~~**

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Merlin had finally calmed his anxiety of having been seen by any of his people back when he’d saved the boy. It had been two years, and he figured that if any of them had seen it and wanted to do something about it, they’d have done it by now.

That was why, when one of his father’s knights came rushing to him with the news of an unfortunate merman that was being attacked by a creature with vicious claws and shark-like teeth, he did not hesitate in the slightest. He grabbed his spear and swam as fast as he could, in the hopes of getting the man out of there alive.

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**~~~~oOMERLINOo~~~~**

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While it was pure coincidence that the innocent merman had gotten trapped and was having trouble fending off the creature, the same could not be said for the knights who had been assigned to this task. They had been planning this for two years and made sure of whom shared their ideals or not, and had finally arranged for them to be going out on a pretend rescue, which had now turned into a real rescue, but that didn’t matter. It had taken them too long for their liking to prepare for this plan. They had woven a special net with threads of magic resistant material, made sure it was heavy enough to tangle around the prince, and coated it in slime that would tempt most predators to take bite.

As they were closing in on the ravine where the merman was trapped, they all got into their planned positions. They all ignored the strategic orders the prince called out, and watched as he cautiously made his way down the ravine.

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**~~~~oOMERLINOo~~~~**

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Merlin held his spear out in front of him as he made his way into the ravine. He peeked around a corner and looked straight into the back of a hideous monster he’d never seen before. It had long claws on strong appendages and a lumpy grey body. It looked to be a very slow swimmer, but very powerful. It was currently clawing on a magical shield on the ground, which looked to be very fragile. Merlin caught sight of a blue tail and light orange finns, his skin looked to be a light brown, and his hair was dark from what he could see. He seemed mostly unharmed, but was trapped by a stone.

The prince turned to see the others in position, and nodded for them to follow him. He swam slowly, trying to sneak up on the monster to have the element of surprise on his side. The merman on the ground caught sight of him, and his eyes widened, but thankfully, he stayed silent. Merlin took one hand off his spear to give the signal for attack and lifted the spear up, gripping it powerfully with both hands and thrust it down as hard as he could.

The spear shattered.

The monster froze.

Merlin could just register that the sharpness of his spear had just managed to make the smallest of scrapes on the beast’s hide, before the beast flung around, aiming it’s claws at him. He barely managed to duck the claws and wondered briefly where the knights were. That was, until he was suddenly tangled in a net they had just thrown at him.

“You’re supposed to trap THAT thing! Not me!” he shouted as he readied his magic shield.

Dread surged like icy water through his whole body as he realized his magic could not be used. He looked closer on the net and saw the faint traces of magic resistant threads, and he suddenly realized it was coated in slime. They had been planning this. They had seen him save the boy, and now they wanted him to suffer.

Merlin stared up at the beast in sheer terror as it tasted the water. Its ugly yellow shark-like teeth chomping on the water as if it was something to chew on. The small red eyes staring blankly into space. He just saw the grinning face of one of the knights before the beast lunged at him. He felt the raw pain, saw the blood filling the water around him, screamed as he felt himself be torn apart. Eventually the pain was too much for him and he was swallowed by blackness.

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**~~~~oOMERLINOo~~~~**

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Lancelot was so relieved when he saw the Prince himself, and the knights sneaking up on the beast. He wasn’t from the same city, but he knew of the Emrys family and had seen the royal family once. You never forgot them once you saw them. Or at least he had not. But when the knights didn’t respond to the prince’s signal, he realized something was terribly wrong. And then they threw that net on him. He could do nothing but watch in terror as the Prince was overpowered by the beast. He looked up at the knights and saw them grinning at the sight of all that blood, and decided he had to play dead if he wanted to survive this himself.

As the knights were distracted by the gruesomeness in front of them, he cut shallow cuts on his skin with the little blade he had kept by his side, and used magic to create an illusion of gruesome gashes in place of the nicks. He then forced his body to be completely slack. He half floated, with his tail still stuck under the stone.

Soon the knights decided they’d had enough of their fun and slaughtered the beast easily. They chopped it’s head off, and talked about how they would bring it back to show the King how they heroically slaughtered the beast that killed his son. The beast still had pieces of one of the Prince’s fins between it’s teeth, which would be sufficient evidence on its own. All they had to do was tell the king how they had been unable to rescue the prince before the beast had chomped him down.

Lancelot remembered in the last second to throw another spell on himself, making his skin look deathly pale. Just as the spell took effect, one of the knights remembered him and turned to look in his direction. He let his gaze freeze, and could see in his peripheral vision that the knight swam closer. He stopped, shrugged and swam back to the others.

“I guess he was more hurt than he seemed. He’s dead, so he won’t be a threat to us,” the knight told the others. They snickered, and swam off.

Lancelot waited for a while, making sure they were truly gone before he let his spells flicker out. Now that he didn’t have a shield to concentrate on, and no beast trying to claw him open, he managed to pull himself free from the rock.

Making sure there were no more monsters coming his way, he swam over to the mauled prince. He felt bile rise to his mouth and tears prickle at his eyes as he came closer and saw the macabre state the Prince was left in. The beast had focused its attacks mainly on the Prince’s right side. He had deep claw marks running down his whole side, and a bite mark on his lower arm. And the fins. The fins on the Prince’s right side was completely torn and useless, with big chunks of them missing. He would never be able to swim properly, again. If he miraculously survived, that is.

Lancelot reached out, and felt for the prince’s pulse. He was shocked to find there was still life in him. He looked around himself and saw some long, thick weeds growing not too far away. He hurried over and cut some free, and brought them back to bind the prince’s wounds in hopes of staunching the blood. He had to untangle the man before he could do anything about his wounds. He tried his best to not move him  too much, but the net was too strong to cut with his tiny blade.

Lancelot bound the Prince’s chest, as it looked like he had cracked ribs in addition to the wounds there. He did his best to wrap the other wounds on the Prince, but they were so many. He ended up just wrapping the worst looking wounds.

As he finished, he looked over the other man’s body with a worried frown. He wanted to do everything in his power to help the prince, and the first step was to find shelter. He turned back to look at the man’s face, and jumped at the sight of eyes on him. Sure, they were glassy and unfocused, but he was awake. Somewhat, at least. Lancelot’s heart broke as he realized there was fear in those intense blue eyes.

“Fear not, Sire, I’ll do everything in my power to help you. I need to move you to a shelter. Do you think you’re up for it?” Lancelot reassured the man with a gentle voice. The fear did not go away from the Prince’s eyes, but he nodded slightly in resignation, and closed his eyes to concentrate on his laboured breathing.

Lancelot cringed from the scream that erupted from the man as he tried to get a proper grip around him to swim him to safety. He fell limp in his arms, and Lancelot didn’t have to look at him to know he’d fallen unconscious again.  He adjusted his grip, and swam slowly back the way he came from, where he remembered he’d seen a cave small enough to shelter them from monsters.

****  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention in the last chapter who my amazing beta is! It is the lovely Castielsbee !! (that's her username both here and on fanfiction) go check her out! :)
> 
> I added the drawing I did of Merlin as a merman before I started writing this at the end of this chapter. It was mostly to have something to show myself how I wanted him to be with his injuries and such. if you like it, would you be so nice as to go to my tumblr and reblog it? :) here's the link directly to the post. it also has a close up of Merlin's face :) http://karoviesart.tumblr.com/post/119847293916/karoviesart-so-this-is-the-thing-i-was-working
> 
> as always, comments and kudoses are greatly appreciated and (especially comments) feed my desire to write :)

Lancelot woke with a start. For a moment he didn’t remember where he was, and looked around only to see dark stones all around him. He found he was lying close to a cave’s opening, and turned to find an unconscious, injured merman behind him. He blinked in confusion until his memories came rushing back to him.  

He had brought the prince to safety, and had used all his energy and power in an attempt at healing him with magic. Judging by the look of him, it hadn’t gone very well.

The prince’s breath was ragged, his skin was pale, and he had bruises under his eyes. He looked generally terrible- with dark bruises, and red cuts all over his body. It was a miracle he was still alive.

Lancelot reached over to feel the other man’s forehead and cringed at the heat he felt there. The prince cracked his eyes open, watching him as he fussed over him.

“Gaius…” the Prince murmured. Lancelot stopped fussing and met his gaze.

“What? No, my name is Lancelot, my lord.” He didn’t know what to think when a small smile graced the prince’s features.

“No… Need Gaius…” the merman managed to get out, the smile still on his face, although a pained frown was eating it away.

Lancelot stared at the Prince for a few moments before he suddenly understood who he was talking about.

He himself had been fortunate enough to meet Gaius for a couple of days when he was younger. All merfolk needed to be trained on how to blend in among the humans, and thus they had some of their own stationed on land to take care of, and teach these young merpeople how to live among humans. It had gotten increasingly more difficult after the humans had started murdering all creatures of magic, but they still had to be trained in case they ever needed to escape to land. Gaius was rumored to be the older half brother of the Queen herself, with a human mother and a merman as a father. He had never been a merman, himself, but had gotten some of the magic his father possessed. He was also a healer.

“My lord, you’re too injured to go through with the transformation, let alone travel such a great distance,” Lancelot informed the man with regret lacing his voice.

“I won’t… make it much… longer here, anyway,” the blue eyed merman said between small gasps, and turned his face away slowly, closing his eyes.

Lancelot bit the inside of his cheek, looking at the floor of the cave with a frown. He glanced at the opening, and back at the Prince.

“Let me… see if we’re safe to travel, your highness,” Lancelot decided. He couldn’t just let the prince die there in that cave. If there was any chance that the prince would survive if he got to Gaius, then he had to help him get there.

“Merlin,” the prince was looking at him again, with hope in his eyes.

“My lord?” Lancelot asked, confused.

“My name. Merlin. Cut the… formalities… please,” there was that small smile again.

“As you wish… Merlin,” Lancelot smiled. “I will be back shortly.” He saw Merlin nod slowly before swimming out of the cave to see if their path was clear.

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**~~~~oOMERLINOo~~~~**

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It had taken them a nearly two days to get to the shores closest to the City of Camelot. They had needed several breaks along the way. Merlin was unable to swim properly, even if he hadn’t been in tremendous pain, and so Lancelot had been swimming them both at a very slow pace towards the land of Camelot.

Merlin was barely awake as they closed in on the beach. Lancelot had been trying to reach Gaius through his magic since they had been able to see the shores, but he had yet to get any response. He decided that Merlin would need a proper break, again, and hopefully he would be able to find something to eat for the both of them.

He found a stone that would hide the Prince at least a little, and lay him carefully down in the seaweed beside it. He looked around to see if there were any fish or edible seaweeds or anything close by, but couldn’t really find anything to eat. Deciding the most important thing was to get in contact with Gaius, Lancelot made sure Merlin was as comfortable as possible, before he swam fast towards the shore. He shouted in his mind, sending the messages telepathically by magic, forcing them on the man. Still no response.

“GAIUS! LISTEN FOR POSEIDON’S SAKE! PRINCE MERLIN EMRYS IS GRAVELY INJURED AND NEED YOUR HELP!” Lancelot screamed at the man through the telepathic line as he almost crashed onto the beach in his haste to get closer to the city. He lay there, half on the beach, half in the water, panting, waiting.

Finally, finally, there came a response.

“Who is this?!” He could hear faintly in his mind, and he almost laughed in relief.

“I am Lancelot du Lac. The prince was attacked by his own and needs your help! We need to seek refuge on land, but his condition is life threatening. Please, help us!” Lancelot didn’t realized he was begging for himself as well before he sent the plea through to Gaius. He then realized he couldn't stay in the sea himself after having to act dead to escape the knights. If they saw him, and recognized him, he would most likely be dead.

“Merlin...?” came the worried response that forced Lancelot out of his train of thoughts.

“Yes, Prince Merlin. He’s mostly unconscious, and he’s not strong enough to contact you. Not if he wants to be able to transform, though I fear it will be too much of a strain on him,” Lancelot told the man with regret.

“I am on my way, though it will take me a couple of hours to reach you. Keep him alive, and do not transform until I am there!” was Gaius’ hasty response before the connection was cut.

Lancelot didn’t waste any time in swimming back to his prince. He checked his pulse again and made sure he hadn’t succumbed while he was away. Thankfully, he was still alive. He stayed there, watching over the prince. He didn’t know him very well, but it was his duty to protect him. He would give his life if it meant the Prince would live.

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**~~~~oOMERLINOo~~~~**

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“Lancelot, bring him to shore,” Gaius sent out telepathically to the man who had contacted him earlier. He felt the man startle through the connection, but he soon gave an affirmative. Gaius paced the beach, waiting for them to swim closer. He had brought a cart with him, and his horse stood ready to bring them all back to Camelot. He had brought extensive medical supplies with him, as well as a sheet he had spread over the sand close to the water so he could work on the worst of the injuries before their travel back.

Finally, he saw shapes coming closer. He gasped at the whiteness of Merlin’s skin as they breached the water’s surface. When they were close enough for him to see Merlin’s tail, his heart sank. He didn’t move it at all, and it was covered in seaweed as an attempt to keep the wounds covered. He could see the right fin was shredded, and he feared how bad the rest of him would be.

“Lancelot, please transform now,” Gaius ordered. “I brought some clothes along with me. Put them on and come help me,”

Lancelot did as he was told as quickly as he could. The transformation was an extremely painful process. For some it was more painful than others. Luckily, he was one of those who experienced less pain. He lay there, writhing in the water, grunting and whining a little bit while his body transformed from merman to human. When he was finished, he lay there panting for a few moments before he staggered to his feet. He put on the clothes Gaius had waived his finger at, and helped him by carrying Merlin over to the sheet.

Gaius removed the seaweed, and started examining his nephew. Yes, it was true what the rumors said. He was the older half brother to the Queen. The boy looked terrible. His entire right side was covered in wounds. They had stopped bleeding, but they still looked bad.

He decided to start the healing process now, before making Merlin transform. He was somewhat adept at healing spells, but he would not be able to heal him completely. He  hurriedly ground some of the herbs he’d brought with him, and smeared them in the worst of Merlin’s wounds. His heart clenched at the moaning coming from the young Prince. It was, however, a good sign, telling him he was still fighting to stay alive.  He held a hand over Merlin’s body and started chanting.

Lancelot, having remembered the humans’ hatred for magic, kept watch.

They sat there for close to an hour. Gaius finally stopped chanting, having used most of his energy to heal his nephew as much as possible. He caught himself on one arm as he felt his body falling forward. He stayed like that for a moment steadying himself, before reaching for his medical supplies. The worst of the wounds was shallower than before, and starting to scab over. He paused with his medical bag in his hands. Merlin’s wounds would just open up again when he transformed. it wouldn’t be of any use to start bandaging them before he was human shaped.

Gaius gently patted Merlin’s cheek, calling his name. The boy scrunched his eyes for a moment before they rolled open. He looked very confused as he met Gaius’ gaze.

“Merlin, I need you to transform, now,” Gaius told him gently. He didn’t want Merlin to go through that much added pain, but it was the only way for him to properly help the boy.

Merlin closed his eyes again, and drew in a shaky breath. When he opened them, again, they were glowing gold. At first, nothing happened, but then he started writhing and moaning. It took far longer for him to transform than it took Lancelot, and his pain only grew. His wounds started bleeding once again, and he screamed in pain, clutching his chest as if that would help diminish the pain. When the transformation was finally over, Merlin fell into unconsciousness again, shudders wracking his body.

Gaius didn’t hesitate to start tending to the boy’s wounds. He had Lancelot help him lift Merlin’s body when needed, and soon he had covered all the wounds in healing herbs and honey, and shielding them from dirt with bandages. Lancelot helped him clothe Merlin, and carry him to the cart. They hastily made towards the city of camelot, pulled by Gaius’ faithful horse.

 

** **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> link to tumblr post of the illustration where you also find a closeup of Merlin's face :) http://karoviesart.tumblr.com/post/119847293916/karoviesart-so-this-is-the-thing-i-was-working


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Largely unbetaed!  
> Thank you so much all of you for giving me kudos and comments and everything! I love you guys so much! :D it is greatly appreciated, and feeds my motivation!

Arthur was watching as Gaius entered the courtyard in a hurry, with some stranger beside him in the cart. He watched them uncover someone in the back and have the guards help them carry the person to his chambers while Gaius and the stranger gathered some things and handed the horse’s reins over to the stable boy. To see the old physician run was truly a rare sight, and it showed how serious the situation was. Arthur decided to pay the man a visit later to get some information out of him. If the person was one of Camelot’s residents, he had the right to know what had happened to determine if there was a threat to the kingdom.

 

He would let the man have a bit of time to tend to his patient first. He had looked like he would need it. He fiddled with the shell he had around his neck, as he had made a habit of when he was alone, trying to recall the memories of what his savior looked like. He frowned when he once again could not recall anything but blue and golden eyes. He sighed and went over to his desk, deciding he could at least try to get some paperwork done.

 

After pouring over the papers for a while he groaned and leaned back in his chair. He stared at the ceiling for a moment before pushing himself up, deciding on a walk around the castle, instead.

 

Before he knew it, his feet had brought him to the physician's chambers. He stood there, debating for a moment over what he should do. Finally, deciding he wouldn’t be able to concentrate if he didn’t get his answers soon, he pushed the door open.

 

Gaius sat on a stool in front of the patient’s bed, hiding the person’s face from Arthur’s view. The rest of the body was covered in blankets, and the old man was moving as if mopping the brow of his patient. There was a pained panting mixed with a few quiet moans and whimpers, and Arthur guessed it came from the patient. The stranger Arthur had seen with Gaius was sitting beside the bed, covered in a blanket, with a cup in his hands.

 

The stranger looked up, and his eyes widened. He shot up from the chair he was sitting in, his back and shoulders straightened, and then he bowed respectfully. It alerted Gaius to Arthur’s presence and he turned in surprise to see the Prince standing by the door.

 

“Sire!” Gaius blurted and rose from his stool. “Prince Arthur, how may I help you?” he said a little more calmly. As the Physician stood, Arthur got a glimpse of a pained and sweaty face, before the physician unconsciously moved to obscure his view of the patient.

 

“I saw you arrive with your patient. As your Prince, I need to know where he’s from and what ails him. I need to know if we should prepare for a threat against our Kingdom,” Arthur felt like he was babbling. There was something about the boy that was nagging his brain but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it was.

 

“Ah, I apologize for not informing you Sire, but his condition was quite dire and needed my full attention,” he turned to the stranger. “Lancelot, could you take over for me for a minute so I can talk to the Prince?” the man, Lancelot, nodded and took the rag Gaius handed him and took the old man’s stool in front of the patient. The old man had a worried look in his eyes as he turned back to his prince. “It is my nephew, Sire. He was on his way to me when he was attacked. Lancelot here was fortunately with him and disposed of the attackers, but not until my poor boy was gravely injured, I’m afraid. I hastened out to help them as soon as I got the word. There is no danger to the kingdom, my lord,”

 

Arthur could see the sadness and worry in the old man’s eyes. He hadn’t known the man had any relatives left, and to know his nephew had been hurt this badly on his way to Camelot to see his uncle, must have taken a great toll on the old man.

 

“Sire, may I ask for a few days off from council meetings and the like, to see to my patient? I’m afraid he will need my presence to heal,” the old man was almost hesitant to ask.

 

“Yes, of course. I’ll bring word to my father, and a guard will be stationed close by for you to ask whatever you need of,” Arthur felt like that was the least he could do for the old man. “I will need to speak to both of them when they’re well enough,” he added and nodded towards the sickbed.

 

“Thank you, sire. As you wish. I will send word when they are ready.” Relief was evident on the physician’s face. He bowed respectfully, and Arthur decided it was time for him to leave.

  
  
  
  


**~~~~oOMERLINOo~~~~**

  
  
  
  


The next few days had Merlin coming in and out of consciousness, and Lancelot out training with wooden swords, and watching the knights train to be able to back up the story of how he supposedly fought off three ruffians. He was an excellent swordsman underwater, although those swords were made by a completely different material, and looked different. He had also trained with swords when he was on land for his human training, so he wasn’t completely green. He was also a very fast learner.  It was the footwork that was his biggest problem, seeing as he was used to live with a tail for most of his life. The fact that he needed to constantly drink water to not dry out completely made it harder for him. Gaius had told him that the longer he lived on land, the longer he would be able to go without water. After living on land for several years, merpeople could go without water as long as any human, some even longer. This varied from merfolk to merfolk. Some was able to live for as long without water as humans, already within their first year, while others would take longer. They had never been allowed to start that kind of training when they had their human training as children, however. They needed to return to the sea as soon as they had learned the basics, but Lancelot had managed to stay a little longer, as he was so fascinated with human life.

 

As he was intently watching two knights sparr, someone came up behind him.

 

“You interested in the knights training?” he heard the man behind him ask.

 

“Yes, I was hoping to learn something from it,” Lancelot replied without looking away from the footwork of the knights. There was silence from the man behind him until the knights finished their round of sparring.

 

“Eager to learn. Good,” the man said, and Lancelot finally turned to see the prince standing behind him. His eyes widened and he bowed.

 

“My apologies, Sire, I did not know you were the one speaking to me,” Lancelot felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment from not having realized it.

 

“No harm done,” the Prince waved it off like it was nothing. “You’re the one who brought Gaius’ nephew to Camelot, are you not?” he added, looking at him expectantly.

 

“Ah, yes, Sire. I was traveling with him…” he trailed off as he thought back to what had really happened.

 

“Is that why you’re eager to learn?” Arthur asked.

 

“Yes, my lord. I wish to be able to better defend those in need. I felt remarkably helpless when I couldn’t help him in time,” this, at least was true. He had felt so helpless when he couldn’t do anything to help his Prince, could do nothing but watch as he was mauled by a great beast. “I… I could not move him. In case his body couldn’t take it without being tended to first. I did my best by binding him in scraps of fabric, but I still needed to wait for Gaius to arrive. I chose to burn the ruffians’ bodies while waiting. I felt their evil would perish if only their bodies did. That is what you wanted to speak with me about, was it not, my Lord?”

 

“Yes. Did you get them all, or are there more of them roaming the kingdom?”

 

“There were only the three of them, Sire,”

 

“Good, good. It must have been the last of that bigger group we caught by surprise some weeks ago. I know a few of them escaped, and was wondering when they would show their ugly faces again. You’ve done the kingdom a great service by ridding it of these men, Lancelot. That is your name, is it not?”

 

“Yes, sire, Lancelot du Lac,” Lancelot bowed deeply in respect. He felt his throat aching for water, and hoped he would be dismissed soon.

 

“Du Lac? I’ve heard that name somewhere before…” Arthur looked at Lancelot more closely. “Tell me, have we met before? As children, perhaps?” his eyes were narrowed in thought, and his head tilted a bit to the side.

 

“Yes, sire, I was introduced to you as a child back when I lived in Camelot for almost a year,” Lancelot really tried not to focus on his dry mouth as he spoke to the Prince.

 

“Are you alright? You sound rough,” Arthur kept looking at him as if he tried to connect his face to one from his memory. “You should go see Gaius for that,” he suggested, and waved him towards the castle.

 

“Yes, Sire, I shall do so immediately,” Lancelot bowed again and walked off in a respectable pace. As soon as he was far enough away, he held his water skin to his mouth and drank greedily. He looked around for a well to get more water from, but decided his best choice would be to go back to Gaius. He probably needed his help, anyway.

  
  
  
  
  


**~~~~oOMERLINOo~~~~**

  
  
  
  


It was truly a struggle to keep Merlin alive. Not only had he been torn apart by a beast wanting a snack, he had also gone for too long without treatment, and in addition he’d had to turn human. It had put a serious strain on his body, and it struggled to heal him properly. Gaius had to keep watch day and night, make sure he was warm enough but not too warm, and mopping him with a very wet rag that left plenty of water on his skin. Merpeople gone human didn’t necessarily have to _drink_  the water to keep hydrated. It was enough to simply keep one’s skin moistened. However it was easier to keep up the pretense if they drank a lot of water rather than always pouring it on themselves.

 

He and Lancelot shared the work when it came to taking care of Merlin. It ensured that both of them got the sleep they needed, and that Merlin wouldn’t be left alone at all.

 

When Merlin’s condition finally stabilized, Gaius sighed in relief and could finally go back to doing his regular work. He still kept a close eye on his nephew, making absolutely certain he was getting better.

 

Lancelot came stumbling into the physician’s chambers, heading straight for the water pitcher. He poured himself a cup and sighed in relief after devouring it.

 

“Be careful going too long without water,” Gaius warned him.

 

“The prince engaged me in conversation, I couldn’t very well stop him just to have a drink of water,” his next cup went down a little slower. “Do you still have my credentials? The prince remembered me from when I came here as a child,” he looked at Gaius as he told him this.

 

“Ah, yes I’ve kept everyone’s credentials. It shouldn’t be too hard to find, however that will have to wait. Would you help me move Merlin into that room over there? Better to have him somewhere more private now that he’s getting better,”

 

Lancelot didn’t hesitate in helping the old man carry his nephew to the small room connected to his chambers. He held him still while Gaius unwrapped the bandages trailing down the young man’s right leg. The wounds were starting to look good, but his leg looked terrible. The wounds on the right side of his tail had transferred only to his right leg as he turned human. There was a  huge scar on his hip, and deep wounds on his foot and and ankle. They had severed some nerves, and he would likely have a very visible limp if he could walk at all. At least there wasn’t big chunks of flesh missing, like Gaius feared when he saw the broken tail.

 

Gaius asked Lancelot to keep an eye on the door so he could try speed up Merlin’s recovery with his magic. It was a huge risk, but he was willing to take it. He worked on the boy for hours, making sure not to rush anything this time.

 

As he finished, the wounds on the boy was reduced to barely healed scars, but even with that much progress on the wounds, his body would need time to adjust. The good news was that he would at least survive the ordeal.  

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That illustration is further along in the healing than in the chapter here, but I wanted to have it here anyway :) you can find it on my art URL on tumblr: http://karoviesart.tumblr.com/post/120899889161/thanks-you-guys-for-helping-me-choose-the-better
> 
> I apologize if you think this ended strangely, but it's because this whole series is just one big fic in reality.. I've just divided it up in series like this to help myself keep it organized. the next part to this series will be following the TV series. I won't be going into detail about it though. I'll just have my own take on some of the big things happening, just to get us to the part of this fic that really was the reason for me to write this :) you could consider all this a bakcstory of sorts. anyway. I hope to update it soon!


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